Borders artists invited to compete for £15,000 prize

Artists in the Borders are being challenged to show their skills in one of the most prestigious awards for artists in the UK.

The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, now in its 12th year, is the country’s leading competition for representational and figurative art.

As well as the cash prize, the winner will also receive a gold medal and have their painting hung in London’s world-famous Mall Galleries.

The total prize money is £30,000, including a first prize of £15,000, second prize of £4,000 and a newly introduced People’s Prize worth £2,000.

The competition is open to any artist resident in the UK over 18-years-old. Both amateur artists and professionals can submit up to four pieces of work. There is also a separate category for young artists (25 or under) who can compete for the Young Artist Award of £4,000.

For the third year running, the competition includes the Brian Botting Prize of £5,000, awarded to an artist aged 30 or under for an outstanding representation of the human figure.

Leading artist Ken Howard OBE, who chairs the judges, said: “The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize celebrates the very best of British representational art and acts as a showcase to the rest of the world. It’s all about the way in which our artists see the real world and capture it. We want as many entries as possible so that we can try to find new and talented artists who will benefit from the support the prize will offer them.”

Around 100 entries will be selected to be displayed in the galleries for two weeks during March 2017, when the winners will also be announced. Selected artists and their guests will be invited to attend.

Artists can submit a maximum of four examples of their work online at lps.artopps.co.uk. These works cannot have been exhibited before. Entry is £15 per work or £8 for students. Deadline for entries is 5pm on December 19. For more information visit www.lynnpainterstainersprize.org.uk